11 comments:

David, I really don't give a rat's ass who John Cusack thinks I should vote for. Who the hell is he to me? I've loved (nearly) all of his movies, but I have zero idea of who he really is, what political views he holds, how knowledgeable he may be, and whether he and I would agree on anything at all.

Hell, we don't even live anywhere near one another, so I wouldn't be especially prone to accepting his recommendation for "a good lawn guy", let alone who should become the next president of the United States.

I do, however, have a great deal of respect for you and Maria, who I feel I do "know" in that quasi-virtural sense that is becomming so common in this day and age. So feel free to tell me why you think I should vote for Obama (and, preferrably to a much lesser extent, why I should vote against McCain). But I, for one, would rather be spared the endoresements of people whose opinions are largely meaningless to me.

Admiral, it sounds to me as though you didn't watch the clip. Just in case I'm right, let me summarize:

Cusack didn't exactly tell you who to vote for. Instead, he gave you a list of facts about Sen. McCain's positions and their similarity to President Bush's positions. Then he suggested that if you like Bush, you'll naturally like Sen. McCain. Support for the tragedy in Iraq, links to defense contractors, privatizing social security, opposition to universal health care -- right down the line.

BTW, Cusack agrees with you about falling for celebrity endorsements, even his own. "I know my opinion doesn't matter more than anyone else's, and I just make films," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday. "But I do feel you have to speak out, and that's what I'm doing."

What Cathcatz said is true, because the democrats lack 60 votes in the Senate the Republicans have successfully threatened not to allow things to come to a vote, so the Democrats have not been able to advance an agenda.

But past that, don't we have a split government now, anonymous 8:35am? Or has President Bush had a change of heart?

Here are two fantastic reasons why you should vote for Obama over McCain.

1. To achieve energy independence, McCain and the Republicans believe that drilling in ANWR and also offshore locations is the answer. This is really their only solution to the problem of high gas prices, and this blog post sums up the result of drilling in ANWR - basically an increase in worldwide production of oil by 1 or 2 percent which is not enough to risk further damage to the arctic environment. You can get an idea of Obama's position from this letter he wrote back in 2006, where he mentions his "Healthcare for Hybrids" proposal.

2. Tax Policy - Obama's tax proposals would increase the average after tax incomes of lower and middle class earners, while McCain's gives even more gracious tax breaks to the top 1 percent of earners than the Bush tax cuts, leading to even greater income inequality AND increasing the deficit by more than $1.5 trillion over Obama's proposals. Here is a good summary of a recent non-partisan report (Brookings Institute) on the tax policies of both candidate.

More tax breaks to the wealthy and higher deficits?! That doesn't sound like a "maverick" to me, it sounds like more of the same!

Lets hear it for John Cusack last great movie.Runaway Jury is perhaps the preeminent movie of our times. It is so realistic and so truthful that the Brady Campaign holds a yearly showing during one of their fund-raisers.

Gun Lobby lawyers have headquarters like this.

Gene Hackman’s Gun Lobby Attorney character is based on noted lawyer Dave Hardy. It is a well-known fact that Dave Hardy has access to a supercomputer and a team of fifty people. He steals evidence and cracks open encrypted data all the time. This is, in part, why the Gun Blobby was able to overturn New York’s Reasonable Lawsuit against gun manufacturers.